We recently conducted our first round of formal performance reviews at Swift Straw. During the review we covered a minimum of 3 positive things that we wanted to acknowledge each person for, 3 areas for improvement and then invited the same feedback for leadership. This was without a doubt one of the most valuable exercises that I have ever been a part of. Here are a few of my big takeaways:
1) It is so important to intentionally acknowledge someone for the things that you appreciate about them. Every member of our team has several things that make them uniquely awesome, and it was great to be able to formally acknowledge and thank them for those things.
2) Improvement recommendations are only productive if they are truly constructive. The majority of our feedback was geared towards helping and challenging each person to grow personally. Great professional results are the byproduct of someone who is growing as a person.
3) The constructive criticism that we received from each individual was without a doubt the most valuable part of the exercise. Most of my bad ideas are the ones that were never appropriately challenged. It is the different perspectives on a team that make it great, so I encourage you to always take advantage of that.
It is truly humbling as I reflect on how much I learn each day from our team. I have learned that anything is possible with a team that shares the right mix of positive attitude and a growth mindset. Here’s to empowering people to become the best version of themselves by constantly improving, challenging the status quo and making the impossible possible.
“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Scott Hamilton
“It is when we stop doing our best work that our enthusiasm for the job wanes. We must motivate ourselves to do our very best.” Truett Cathy